From war to Peace – Newcastle United have travelled some distance since April’s rebellious boycott exposed the schism between the club and its public.

Back then, United felt unsustainable. Now, frustration is partly trained at West Brom’s obstinate owner Jeremy and the intransigence that prevented Newcastle from completing the full January overhaul.

It seems a long way from the atmosphere of suspicion, mistrust and derision that greeted the club’s desperate attempts to convince supporters that they would sign players in the close season. But for all that, it still feels hard to talk of Ashley’s Newcastle turning a corner.

And it would be false and misleading to say that United had silenced the doubters, answered the critics and solved their problems by spending £80million in the last two transfer windows. Third from bottom in the Premier League, with two early Cup exits and all the same problems about a lack of soul, Newcastle continue to be viewed through a prism of intense suspicion by most of those familiar with the Mike Ashley era.

Still, the narrative has shifted since the spring. Back then Ashley’s lack of interest and conviction were the most worrying thing. Lee Charnley’s decision to hand a rookie manager a club that wasn’t fit for purpose and a threadbare squad seemed barely believable, but it made sense if the owner wanted out and saw the club only as a vehicle to hawk his sports merchandise.

The latter accusation still rings true – sadly the gaudy Sports Direct branding is hardly less visible at St James’ Park than it was last year – but the club are now investing in the transfer market. In two windows now they have been among the biggest spenders – something few would have believed back in May.

Yes, they had to do it. No, this is not Ashley’s money. And it would have been sporting suicide to leave things as they were: the team that finished last season, after all, under Carver might have struggled to be competitive in the Championship – a legacy of Charnley’s bad recruitment calls and a club too clever by half.

How do we make sense of it all?

Well, first off the impact of last year’s agitation must be acknowledged. For all that Ashley Out polarises some opinion, it was effective in providing a lightning rod for discontent.

It was smart, lucid and eloquent in the way it summarised the feeling that Ashley was destroying the club from within. And the owner, and MD, took note. Would there have been Ashley’s interview without it? Doubtful. Would the urgency of recruitment happened? Again, it’s up for debate.

From online conversations with the man behind MikeAshleyLies – a twitter account worth a follow – there’s a compelling argument that Ashley was ALWAYS going to do this. The owner wanted the club to be self sufficient and now it is, so knock yourself out.

And before we talk too much about a changing of attitude at Newcastle, not all that much has changed since November’s 5-1 defeat at Crystal Palace – a loss that exposed everything that is so troubling about the way Newcastle is run.

It remains puzzling that the club can invest £80million on new players and hand it to a coach with a mediocre CV. United still fear being challenged – their biggest failing – and the appointment of Steve McClaren was confirmation of that. A strong, innovative, independent coach with a big reputation could have been secured – but that wasn’t for a minute what Newcastle wanted.

From a recruitment perspective, United are evolving rather than undertaking a wholesale revolution.

Although Newcastle pushed the envelope to sign Andros Townsend and Jonjo Shelvey – two players they had discussed before but considered over-priced when the English player premium was factored in – they still conform to the same blueprint. Both are under 26 and both have the potential to improve.

Their attitude to Saido Berahino was similar. £21million would have been overpaying but not if the striker starts to score goals. Young, English and prolific? Start the bidding at £40million.

In short, there is money available to spend but only on what the club consider the right players. To most of us, it seems like a no brainer to spend half the money Berahino would cost on Loic Remy, who has been prolific in the Premier League before. But he doesn’t represent “value” as defined by the United board.

Yet there have been outliers: Seydou Doumbia would not have been signed in days-gone-by. Bringing in a 28-year-old to do a specific job represents the first signs of flexibility in the transfer policy for a while. United change at glacial speed, so maybe in another two windows’ time they will modify their blueprint a bit more.

Newcastle under Ashley remains an exercise in mutual suspicion. The club cannot expect garlands after all that has been before – and trust and affection remain a long way. For many, the bonds were long broken.

For the others who have stuck with it, there is now something to cling to. There are reasons for optimism – finally – in the strength of the squad and the promise of more to come. Given how desperately dark it has been for so long, that represents progress of sorts.